Protective Effects of Curcumin Against Paclitaxel-Induced Spinal Cord and Sciatic Nerve Injuries in Rats

Yardim A., Kandemir F. M., Çomaklı S., Özdemir S., Çağlayan C., Küçükler S., ...More

NEUROCHEMICAL RESEARCH, vol.46, no.2, pp.379-395, 2021 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 46 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s11064-020-03174-0
  • Journal Name: NEUROCHEMICAL RESEARCH
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Page Numbers: pp.379-395
  • Keywords: Apoptosis, Curcumin, Inflammation, Paclitaxel, Peripheral neurotoxicity, INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY, INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS, BREAST-CANCER CELLS, INDUCED APOPTOSIS, KAPPA-B, AUTOPHAGY INHIBITION, GENE-EXPRESSION, DOWN-REGULATION, INFLAMMATION, SUPPRESSION
  • Ataturk University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Paclitaxel (PTX) is an antineoplastic agent commonly used in the treatment of solid tumors and is known to cause dose-limiting peripheral neurotoxicity. This study was performed to evaluate the protective effect of curcumin (CUR) against PTX-induced spinal cord and sciatic nerve injuries in rats. The rats were administered PTX (2 mg/kg, BW) intraperitoneally for the first 5 consecutive days followed by administration of CUR (100 and 200 mg/kg, BW daily in corn oil) orally for 10 days. Our results showed that CUR significantly reduced mRNA expression levels of NF-kappa B, TNF-alpha, IL-6, iNOS and GFAP whereas caused an increase in levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO1 in the spinal cord and sciatic nerve of PTX-induced rats. In addition, CUR suppressed the activation of apoptotic and autophagic pathways by increasing Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, and decreasing p53, caspase-3, Apaf-1, LC3A, LC3B and beclin-1 mRNA expression levels. The results showed that CUR also maintained the spinal cord and sciatic nerve histological architecture and integrity by both LFB staining and H&E staining. Immunohistochemical expressions of 8-OHdG, caspase-3 and LC3B in the PTX-induced spinal cord tissue were decreased after administration of CUR. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that CUR has protective effects on PTX-induced spinal cord and sciatic nerve injuries in rats.